Byron Shire's draft LEP ready to go

The Byron Shire Council is rejecting claims that its draft Local Environment Plan will lock up farming land.

Last week farmers around Bangalow voiced their concerns about the council's draft LEP saying biodiversity definitions will put limitations on their farming land.

Daniel Harris said the Byron Shire Council draft LEP will halve the amount of usable land on his 80 hectare property.

Mr Harris runs a macadamia farm and processing plant near Bangalow.

He said the proposed biodiversity corridor will severely affect his family's ability to use their land.

"It's going to take up half of our property holding and it's going to lock it up for ecological purposes, great, this is a National Park; but it's not, it's agriculture, and people living, and right through the corridor is our main driveway going to our house with all sorts of deliveries and things going on," Mr Harris said.

Mr Harris claims the biodiversity corridor on his property takes in about 40 hectares of land.

In addition, he said the corridor goes nowhere. It will finish at his property boundary and doesn't link up with the neighbouring Ballina Shire.

The council's manager for Land and Natural Environment, Sharyn French said the public consultation phase hadn't formally began.

The council only recieved the news last Thursday that it had state government approval for the draft LEP.

Ms French said the information sessions and consultation can now be arranged.

The official exhibition period will start in late September and run for 60 days.

Ms French agreed that some properties were affected by a biodiversity overlay but said that didn't change the zoning of the property.

"Wildlife corridors aren't a zoning, they're an overlay, she said.

"They do trigger a level of consideration for any works that might happen on that property, but they don't change the zoning."

She refuted the claim that the corridors will lock up usable land.

"There could be a number of zonings under the wildlife corridor overlay but it doesn't lock your land up, it's just a level of consideration that with any development application that would come in that we would need to consider those values," Ms French said.

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